Dare me!
by Kayi Rowling
Summary: My first drabble collection, responses to the PSOH Drabble community at LiveJournal / Challenge list, 1st chapter / Challenges and introductory chapters: 205 2nd, 206 6th, 207 12th, 208 21st, 209 34th, 210 57th, 211 74th, 212 88th, 213 96th
1. Introduction

Welcome to my _**Pet Shop of Horrors**_** drabble collection**!

These have originated from challenges at the PSOH Drabble community at LiveJournal.  
The technical specs say the word count _must_ be 100, so all the following drabbles will be 100 words (believe me, they are!), unless specified otherwise.

My manner of publishing them will be: until the challenge is closed, I won't post the ones that belong to it. Only contents per drabble will be the title and rating, and the text; _spoilers are to be expected in every one,_ and genre won't be put.  
There will be an introductory chapter per challenge, just so that you all know what's up before you read… or something (actually, is a personal measure to keep everything in order… 'cause I'm that lame!)

**Read, Enjoy and Review, **please!

* * *

_**Content List**_

205: Afterlife

206: Rebirth

207: Spiral

208: Interruption

209: Duplicate

210: Fame

211: Marriage

212: Makeup

213: Crisis


	2. 205: Afterlife

Challenge #205: **Afterlife**

The challenge I first wrote for. After all, I'm relatively new to this fandom! (…worse still to LiveJournal)

* * *

_**Angustiata**__ (PG):_ A rather sad piece. Even when I'm not the only user of that word in this universe, the meaning I have intended for it is of my own creation: "anguish" in Spanish, with the added suffix of certain melodies (examples: toccata, sonata)

_**Houdini**__ (PG):_ Bitter humor, it'd seem… And a clichéd representation of Death. Honestly, what _else_ would we want?

_**Dishonor**__ (PG-13):_ This fandom rarely speaks of a female _kami_ ("megami," to the male _kami,_ "ogami"). And, for sure, I'm one of the pioneers with this particular lady…


	3. Angustiata

**Angustiata**

* * *

Sometimes, he thought he would have been better off if he had just let go of life back then.

Previous to this, he had been beautiful, eternally young and immortal. He'd been worshipped by animals, plants, and even mankind itself. Now, he was reduced to just "another one," one who got barked at by dogs, sneezed during spring, and got pushed if caught in the midst of a multitude.

His father would look at him with pity and regret. His son disliked him no less. His grandson acted with great disdain towards him…

"Hell must be such a beautiful place."


	4. Houdini

**Houdini**

* * *

It was over.

The bastard surely couldn't run from such thing as death, like he had escaped multiple times in the past, when one was in pursuit of the other all the time.

Now, he wandered through an endless expanse of nothing, other souls he cared not for ignoring him back as he sought for him among them…

"He's not here," a cloaked figure declared, scythe in hand.

"What the Hell do you mean, he isn't here!"

"He returned."

Vesca Howell cursed aloud, then chuckled at the irony of it all; D had slipped away from his grasp yet again.


	5. Dishonor

**Dishonor**

* * *

She willingly stood by the open window, daring those heartless monsters to come and kill her as well. After all, the others were dying because of her; it was an unwanted punishment, being spared…

She held on to a bejeweled dagger, one of many offerings they had been given. How bizarre, that the humans had turned on them like that, over such a small rejection, after centuries of peaceful alliance…

"The world will not rest until the last of you has exhaled his last breath," she told the one who came to her, before she became her dagger's dying sheath.


	6. 206: Rebirth

Challenge #206: **Rebirth**

My second challenge. I went into overload, and did FIVE drabbles on this one… Oh, Greater Gods and Goddesses, do forgive my soul!

* * *

_**This is personal…**__ (PG-13):_ Part of the _Angustiata _and _Houdini_ drabble series. Pretty… disturbing, for the first bits, but I'm still moved by the end.

_**Nameless**__ (PG):_ Sad piece, prequel companion to _Angustiata,_ _Houdini,_ and _This is personal…_, and perhaps the last on the series as well. A new point of view is introduced!

_**Please, stand by**__ (PG):_ My funniest drabble so far. Truly recommended, and has NO known spoilers so far! Also, warning for sexuality implications, and emoticon use (I defy FFnet's bizarre document formats; let's see if it _can_ be seen!)

_**Laughter… and tears**__ (PG):_ One could call this one a "companion piece" for the drabble _Dishonor,_ except that it isn't quite. Warning: Death, and a nasty one.

_**Domestic miracles**__ (PG-13):_ As original as a twice-copied CD, I was convinced into writing this one. Except, of course, that I'm _never_ one to write "nice and sweet" when "angsty and dramatic" is possible!


	7. This is personal

**This is personal…**

* * *

"Detective Orcot!"

The Gods knew he wasn't so anymore, yet he turned to face the approaching young man, curious as to how he knew he had once been… The young man pulled out a gun and pointed it at him, right between his eyes.

"Such a pleasant surprise, isn't it?"

"Who're…?"

He saw it then: long black hair, cruel violet eyes, beautiful face, graceful figure… A mirage over that unruly light brown hair, those sea green eyes, the teenaged face and lanky frame.

"It's been sixteen years." To his shock, the gun was lowered, and the youth bowed. "Thank you."


	8. Nameless

**Nameless**

* * *

A child without parents is an orphan. A woman whose husband has died is a widow; opposite case, he's a widower. And so on with the names.

Yet there's a tragedy that remains unnamed, since it is the worst suffering for any soul…

He had watched as his own child vanished.

He didn't interfere, even when he could have saved his life. Something in his demeanor had told him to keep away…

His child had long being just an empty, soulless vessel. He had _wanted_ to die.

And the parent let him.

And he came back.

…such an indescribable joy.


	9. Please, stand by

**Please, stand by**

* * *

The young warrior was surrounded by the enemy. He was already weak, and there were so many of them…!

As expected, they defeated the young warrior, who lay upon the ground, unmoving, while they walked away, scattering, no longer interested in anything.

Then, a beautiful priestess appeared. She looked at him for a minute or two.

"Resurrection!"

And the warrior rose, completely healed, and…

A little window popped up: "D, where the hell were you? They killed me!"

The answer just annoyed Leon further: "Detective, I run a business. I can't spend all my day playing videogames like you :P"


	10. Laughter and tears

**Laughter… and tears**

* * *

While the adults keep a respectful distance between them… that is not the way of children. Innocence born from being new, they seek to be all together, laughing and in peace.

That is why it is allowed, humans and deities, joining in games with the animals, enjoying fruit and sweetened milk within the forests. Sometimes, there may be a frown; yet, by dusk, it would have become a smile…

Except for when the wicked flames took the lives of all those children away, while their friends watched from afar, crying as they couldn't understand.

…Their friendship would never be restored.


	11. Domestic miracles

**Domestic miracles**

* * *

"_It shouldn't happen this way."_ That's what D had said while he made tea, and before he fainted, bleeding copiously onto the floor.

Hours later, he lay on the bed, _crying,_ the small figure of _their_ still-born child cradled in his arms. Leon watched from the open door, thankful to a deity he didn't believe in that D was _alive,_ at least; for a moment, he'd believed he'd die, too.

He took the cold little body from his arms, minutes later. Their child would have been so beautiful, yet…

The baby moved, sighed, and then started crying. She was alive.


	12. 207: Spiral

Challenge #207: **Spiral**

Third challenge I respond to. I did a total of eight drabbles, though one was an independent 444-word issue, and another was a 200-word continuation to some earlier response.

* * *

_**Wild Strawberries **__(PG-13):_ The mentioned species of strawberries _does_ exist, by the way! (I haven't had the pleasure, though…)

_**Too much for a morning antic… **__(PG): _Up to this day, the best question I've received about this drabble is "where did he get the curlers?" XD

_**Starlit**_ _(PG-13):_ Third in row of the same pairing, yet this drabble possesses something the other two don't…

_**You never love the right one**__ (PG):_ Sweets. I have written about _sweets,_ of all things! Oh, and also a character favored by some sectors of the fandom…

_**An exclusive treat…**__ (PG-13):_ Way-too-direct sequel to _Wild Strawberries._ It's 200-words in length.

_**Bleeding Fingertips**__ (PG-13):_ Back to the angst at last… I personally liked the imagery presented very much.

_**Lullaby **__(PG):_ An alternate universe, focused upon the end of the manga. By one side, moving and cute; by the other, plagued with dark meanings… You pick your poison.

_**In a summer Saturday afternoon…**__ (PG):_ An alternate reality (universe and timeline), treating the meeting of two children. This started as a challenge response, and became a 444-word drabble or one-shot.

* * *

Please, do _Read, Enjoy and Review_


	13. Wild Strawberries

**Wild strawberries**

* * *

The delicate stems turned and twisted, climbed like vines, even when they were not. Unsurprisingly enough, D was in the midst of it all.

'_That guy's such a weirdo,'_ Vesca thought, as he walked over to the Chinese exchange student. _'Talks with plants and bugs and all that…'_

Right now, he was collecting fruit; still…

"What's that?"

"Strawberries."

"They're… too… small, don't you think?"

"Oh, _maybe._ These are a species that has been dropped, given that characteristic," he said, smirking. "The _fragaria vesca._"

The way he then took one to his dark lips was…

'_Holy… shit…'_

…downright hot and sexy.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	14. Too much for a morning antic…

**Too much for a morning antic…**

* * *

"How _dare_ you, Vesca!"

He just chuckled, though, as he heard the Chinese exchange student growl in fury and whimper in distress through the closed bathroom door. He leant against it, smirking and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Couldn't resist," he replied.

He suddenly fell backwards as the door opened abruptly. He looked up at the glaring Count D, a murderous look in his violet eyes, dark lips a straight, thin line…

But then, his lips quivered, his eyes shone with unshed tears, his graceful hands caressing his long hair slowly, _sadly._

_Oops…_

"How dare you _curl_ my hair?"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	15. Starlit

**Starlit**

* * *

The plan had been to watch the stars in the perfect clearness of the mountains' sky, to follow with his finger the swirling shape of the Milky Way… Still, he was completely taken by another miracle of nature at the moment, and would be for a long while, even after dawn.

Long silky black hair was mirror to the greatness above them, the starlight reflecting upon the curtain as if in a serene pond. It spread on the ground, curling at the tips…

"The night suits you," Vesca whispered, before his lips claimed D's own as he lay beneath him.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	16. You never love the right one

**You never love the right one**

* * *

His masterpiece, definitely!

Nothing he'd ever done in the past could equal what he now had before him upon the delicate porcelain plate: a chocolate squared pastry, freshly baked, placed in the center of a vanilla cream pool with cinnamon swirls, covered in a fine layer of sugar…

_It was perfect!_

He left it on the parlour's little table, an offering for the most beautiful of deities…

Still, he hadn't expected the Count would return to the pet shop, surrounded by an aura of indignation, followed by a yelling detective.

The pair went past the parlour. Neither noticed the pastry.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	17. An exclusive treat…

**An exclusive treat…**

* * *

He didn't know if the guy had done it on purpose or what, but, by the time Vesca had decided the Count's dark lips needed to be cleared of the strawberries' juice too, he found he didn't care to take the slow licking of the rest of D's face and hands a step further.

_He had smeared himself too much with the sticky liquid,_ he would tell himself and all others, and, perhaps, even to the Chinese student. _And neither had a handkerchief or a tissue to use…_

Or, at least, that was what he'd thought… until he pulled back from the kiss, when he caught D spreading some more on a recently-licked-clean, porcelain-soft cheek, the strawberry disintegrating as it rubbed lightly.

"You seem to be enjoying the strawberries so much," he simply said, violet eyes shining in mischief.

"Know that, if it gets to your clothes, you're lost."

And Vesca had _actually_ expected the Count would refrain from doing _that_ as well; and he did it all upon _his_ clothes, too!

"I know of a way to keep them from staining," D whispered into his ear, both hands roaming over his chest, "but you'll need to come with me."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	18. Bleeding Fingertips

**Bleeding Fingertips**

* * *

Incense and candles. Warm, salty water on a bowl. A gleaming, sharp blade.

"_We are identical…"_

He was just the same as his father, his grandfather, and all those before. He didn't know when it had become a bad thing for him, though.

"_I don't want to be…"_

He looked at his fingerprints, which were of such shapes that would be easily confused by spiraling lines, unless closely examined. He knew they were the same, too.

His slender fingers grasped the blade's handle, pressing the tip against his other hand's upturned fingers…

_The salty water would make the scars permanent._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	19. Lullaby

**Lullaby**

* * *

'_I never thought the clouds looked like this up close!'_ Chris exclaimed, marveled by the beauty of the world he was being shown.

The petshop's ship was sailing through a sea of clouds; a thing only dreamt by humans, thought impossible. As it passed, it sent them swirling away, ethereal spirals of Heaven, lighted by the full moon…

"Christopher, I think we should retire for the night," Count D told the child, a slender hand on his shoulder.

'_Ok.'_ He complied, unlike Leon would have; and he was still on Earth, cursing D's name for taking his younger brother away…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	20. In a summer Saturday afternoon…

**In a summer Saturday afternoon…**

* * *

It was summer vacation, and they were visiting his uncle and aunt in NY. He didn't like it there; he preferred LA… But his mom wouldn't listen, yet she promised to take him to the zoo by the end of the week if he was good.

He behaved; he spent his time with his cousin Josie, drawing spiral yellow suns and happy faces with crayons in the living room. And, as promised, Saturday was a day at the zoo.

There, though, his attention got caught by another kid, instead of the animals. He claimed to be Chinese, even when his English was unaccented; still, his clothes were weird, and his eyes kind of spooky, yet pretty and amazing, too!

His mom bought them some ice cream, and let them go explore the zoo on their own, free hands held together, so they didn't get lost among the other visitors.

The other child was strange, claiming he could speak with the animals; Leon dared him to it… and both ended patting the caged lion's head without trouble, the beast tamed by the Chinese kid's words. Adults all around them made a great deal about it, though, so they had to leave and hide, before they were caught and were taken back to Leon's mom…

Once away, they sat on a bench together, sighing in relief, then laughing. The other child seemed reluctant at first, but he joined in just the same, as Leon went through a summarized retelling of what had just happened, making a great show of it.

"What you did back there was amazing!" he finished.

"I think it was pretty normal…" Then, he smiled again: "But I know of something else we could do!"

"Yeah? What?" Leon asked, the enthusiasm of the young children awakening in both of them.

"Perhaps, I could show you to…" A strong wind, whistling all around, drowned the rest of his words, before it hit them full force.

The Chinese child reached out and clung to Leon; both had enough weight between them to prevent the wind from blowing them away, or, at least, off the bench. Then, it subsided…

"Grandfather," the other kid whispered, looking over Leon's shoulder.

He turned to look too, and found a cloaked man there, a pair of golden eyes glaring coldly at him. He gulped, and pushed the other child away, though carefully.

Both stood from the bench, and the Chinese boy looked at Leon sadly. "I must go now," he said simply, then turning his back on him and heading to his grandfather's side.

"Hey!" Leon yelled after him. "What's your name? Will I see you again?"

No answer, though.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	21. 208: Interruption

Challenge #208: **Interruption**

I ran out of time for this one, as I had many other things I desired to write… yet I hit my record with 12 drabbles just the same!

* * *

_**Untamed **__(PG-13):_ There are places where you can make out… and those where it's better if you just hold hands.

_**Curiosity and Indignation**__ (PG):_ Children tend to ask the strangest things, don't they?

_**The Way of the Candy**__ (PG):_ No matter how much you _hate_ someone, it's rather rude and cruel to deprive them of their pleasures.

_**Don't answer!**__ (PG-13):_ Similar to _Untamed,_ but with a totally different pairing… and a more awkward situation, involving a confused caller.

_**Legal immunity**__ (PG-13):_ The moral of the story is "never be above selling yourself to others to get out of trouble." You try to figure it out!

_**Reisen / Soul Fountain**__ (PG):_ As soon as your son gets his own child, he tends to rebel…

_**Absinthe**__ (PG-13):_ A long drabble (444 words), set in France, some time after the Second World War.

_**Judge me as well**__ (PG):_ When you switch sides, becoming the enemy, do you deserve the mercy of those who you willingly left on the other side?

_**Of handfans and chiffon**__ (PG):_ Dances of seduction and mystical rituals of praise… Thing done only by women?

_**Anatomy unclass**__ (PG-13):_ "Arresting" is the term used for sex in the mid 90's, according to this manga… This same source indicates "studying" was the word in the mid 70's, too!

_**Fire**__ (PG):_ A long drabble (444 words), during which we realize humans aren't the only ones in need to evacuate when a building's consumed by flames.

_**Kiss me goodbye?**__ (PG-13):_ Fate is cruel… yet She has shown mercy to a soon-to-be mother, saving her child's life.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy and Review_


	22. Untamed

**Untamed**

* * *

"_What_ do you _think_ you…!" D never managed to finish, though, as Vesca claimed his lips, arms immediately wrapping around his waist and pulling him closer.

He had a flashing thought around the lines of _'whatever,'_ before he let his own hands grip the other male's shoulders, tugging half-playfully, half-urgently at his shirt.

They did their best effort at clearing the lab's table without breaking anything. It was _D,_ though, the one that ended on top this time in the struggle, straddling Vesca's hips, before he…

"_Holy shit!_" A professor was at the doorstep.

What a _perfect, fucking_ timing, really!

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	23. Curiosity and Indignation

**Curiosity and Indignation**

* * *

The gathering was impressive; they liked hearing whenever he told a story, whichever that may be. This one, though, was a _favorite,_ as it reminded them all of the reasons for why humankind deserved to be punished, none to be spared… _The slaughter of his kin._

Everyone listened with full attention, none moved, his voice the only sound… Then, a little hand rose in the air. "I have a question, father."

The pet shop's inhabitants, and the Count himself, all turned to face the violet-eyed child. "Yes?"

"Are you _sure_ it happened _that way?_"

Nobody had dared questioning him before.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	24. The Way of the Candy

**The Way of the Candy**

* * *

_The Count was being cryptic again, _smirking as he bit a piece of expensive chocolate.

No matter what he did, the bastard _always_ managed to slip off whenever Leon came to the pet shop with a case he was _sure_ the other was involved in. Interrogations dead-ended every time, and D kept the sweet loot, remaining as guilty as sin as the detective left the place…

_No such luck today! _Leon snatched the treat from his fingers, the last bite, and ate it himself, glaring at D, who was momentarily shocked, before he pouted, invoking guilt in Leon's mind. _Damn!_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	25. Don’t answer!

**Don't answer!**

* * *

The couch was an awkward place, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable… _The bedroom was too far, anyways._

Except that this was still the shop's domain, thing they were reminded of by the ringing phone, which, Leon swore, _hadn't been in the parlour's table before._

"Ah, ah… _ah!_ Wait." D pushed him off him just to reach for the ringing offense. He cleared his throat: "Count D's Pet Shop, how may I help you?"

Leon growled lowly, bringing him beneath as whoever was calling started speaking; he attacked his neck mercilessly, making communication impossible and humiliating, unable to keep from moaning…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	26. Legal immunity

**Legal immunity**

* * *

Japan. Tokyo. Shinjuku… It had taken Leon some time, but he'd finally found Count D's pet shop again.

The place looked the same, D unchanged still, with tea and treats around… though he was serving them to another guy. _Not that he cared, of course!_

He stomped in. Taking advantage of the momentary shock, he got the handcuffs around one wrist… "International agent now; D, you're going to rot behind the bars for good!"

Suddenly, D reached out, wrapping his arms around his neck, bringing their lips together, kissing him passionately. "You were saying, detective?"

Funny, he couldn't quite remember…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	27. Reisen, or Soul Fountain

**霊泉 ****(Reisen) / Soul Fountain**

* * *

Bare skin against bare skin in the mountain lake's pristine water, touching lightly in an embrace, being a form of warm comfort in the cool liquid surrounding.

His long black hair floated upon the surface, like ink waving yet not dissolving. His arms were holding his young child close and secure to his chest, the baby being allowed to enjoy the water anyway. Occasionally, he'd kiss his soft, short hair lovingly, and would whisper certain words or phrases for his son to hear…

"The child is ill; take him back home."

D looked up, meeting his father's golden eyes. "_No._"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	28. Absinthe

**Absinthe**

* * *

Currently, one resided in France, living, as always, going up any passing skirt and latching onto any bared throat. And, until recently, he'd found his dear friend, Count D, again; God knew he'd freaked out with the baby, but… well…

"Single-parenting?" he teased that afternoon, as they sat at his house's terrace's table. He set a crystal glass down, serving a clear green liquid and placing a slotted spoon on top.

"I don't appreciate such jokes, Alexander." At the golden glare, he just chuckled.

Those amber eyes followed the three sugar cubes he carefully set upon the spoon. So did the infant's violet ones; a shiver ran up and down his spine as he realized the kid must be _awfully_ aware of his surroundings, at such young age…

As he poured water on them, the sugar dissolving and mixing along with the green drink below, making it milky in tone, he added: "You are unusually tense, D. The war is over, yet you haven't stopped going up and down: moving the pet shop, going to China, getting that… _that,_" he gestured at the child in the other's arms. "You need _another_ pastime."

"I have _already_ told you of our mission, and…"

He interrupted: "_No,_ D," he insisted. "Try other stuff for _yourself,_ at least once in your lifetime." He pushed the absinthe glass towards him.

"Alcoholism is _not_ something I would do, and you _know it._" Hell, had he always being such a stubborn bastard?

"I'm not asking you to do so," he said, and D smirked _that_ little victorious smirk. Except… "I'm _ordering_ you to take _this,_ right now." Before the Count could protest, he took the child from his arms, nodding towards the glass. "I'll spare you the pain of being a bad example." Covering the baby's violet eyes, he added: "But you drink that."

Graceful fingers grasped the glass, lifting it hesitantly. "What for?" he asked faintly, eyes fixed on the milky-looking spirit.

"So you can give a damn about the world and your holy mission," Alexander replied, blue eyes begging as golden met his. "Be happy as well, perhaps? For a minute or two?"

D smirked again, biting his lip to keep from chuckling. "Getting me _drunk_ so you can take me to bed, huh?" he teased, the vampire blushing. "Very clever, I'd say… Yet I don't think you are deserving of the compliment." The rim of the glass touched his dark lips…

"Careful, though; might be too bitter for you, even with the added sugar," he warned, remembering D's reaction to anything not-sweet.

Yet he wasn't expecting that, after the first tentative sip, he'd empty the glass at all…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	29. Judge me as well

**Judge me as well**

* * *

Knocking at the door brought him back to reality, back to a world without Leon and Chris… He rose to his feet gracefully, and went to the door: "Count D's pet shop, how may…?" Then, he gasped.

His grandfather, who he'd not seen in years, stood there. Besides him, a human teenager, followed by the shadow of D's own father… "I want a pet," he said simply.

"Excuse me, what?" He looked from one to the other. _No. It couldn't be…_

"As human, I can't be spared any longer, can I?"

Emptily smiling, he answered: "Indeed, you cannot. Follow me."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	30. Of handfans and chiffon

**Of handfans and chiffon**

* * *

The delicate fluttering of the fan held by the left hand, provoked by two hidden fingers lightly tapping, imitated multicolored butterfly wings. The other fan, on the right, was kept low and closed at times, or high and open and being twirled in graceful ways, the manners of bird courting, all keeping a strict period and rhythm.

Layers of chiffon veils hid embroidered silk beneath, giving the slender figure a quality of air and incense smoke, of the sky and the ethereal… _It was all so beautiful._

_Yet…_

"D, _how dare_ you call yourself a _man?!_"

Humans were so unappreciative.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	31. Anatomy unclass

**Anatomy unclass**

* * *

Lying down upon the bed, wearing only a loosely tied kimono, D sighed dramatically as Vesca went through his anatomy book, kneeling besides him. "Why do you need my cooperation, again?" he asked.

"You're thin enough for your bones to be felt easily," he muttered, reaching out for his bare ankle, rubbing with his thumb. "And girls are ticklish." He then proceeded to go through a mental checklist of names, hand going up D's leg without any problem.

Until… "You have _no_ permission to do _that, _Vesca!" D growled, kicking with his other foot.

Vesca chuckled, snapping the book shut.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	32. Fire

**Fire**

* * *

Everything was quiet within the library's walls… At least, until the fire alarm went off, startling all the stressed students. Leaving things where they were, they headed for the exit, wondering what might have happened…

"I heard it was one of the labs," one of their friends said, meeting them at the hall, among the rush of fleeing people.

Vesca felt how D pulled his arm free from his grasp just then, and turned around in time to see the Chinese Count going the opposite way than the flow of people. "What the hell, D!" he yelled after him, but he didn't hear… _'Damn, he shouldn't do that!'_

And he shouldn't follow either, but did just the same; D was heading for the laboratories, after all. He couldn't care _that_ much about his research, could he? Enough to risk his _life?_ Surely not!

Smoke already hid the ceiling, and it was becoming hard to breathe. Still, seeing how it rose, D went up the stairs, and Vesca followed, calling out his name and being ignored. At the third floor, he went to the right, and Vesca could see the fire _approaching_ from the left already. "D, come back, you idiot!" he hurried after him.

The door was left open, and, as soon as he went through, he saw D unlocking a glass door, and then turning to him. The fear and the worry in those violet eyes left him speechless. "Vesca, help me!" the exchange student begged, going through the doorstep into a smaller room, full of cages where animals used in experimentation were held.

They were all screeching in panic, turning around and around within the confines of their cages, trying to find a way out. The smoke was lowering upon them all, yet D still went through every cage for which he had the keys for, letting mice and doves out, along with the occasional weirder animal.

When he got to the others, which locks he couldn't open, though, Vesca went back to the other room, throwing open all drawers and hurriedly going through their contents. He didn't find any other set of keys, so they were left to yank at the thin metallic bars until the locks snapped, setting the remaining animals free.

Fire lapped at the first room's wooden frame, and one of the windows burst, the birds flying out, the rats scurrying away. Still, the smoke lingered, and both of them were coughing, their eyes burning. Other cages remained unopened, and they didn't have the strength anymore…

When D actually fainted, though, Vesca decided they'd done enough rescuing for a day. The window was the only way out now…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	33. Kiss me goodbye?

**Kiss me goodbye?**

* * *

They'd always told her she had the worst luck in the world: never gotten married, with a below-average career and job, being a single mother… and getting pregnant so late in her life, the father of this second child also abandoning her in her time of need.

Now, though, such things didn't matter; Fate had made it very clear to her that She was taking a life today from her hands…

'_Not my baby,'_ she prayed, the pain unbearable. _'Please, not him!'_

The cries of her child reached her ears then, yet she never saw him, darkness consuming her sight.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	34. 209: Duplicate

Challenge #209: **Duplicate**

Wrote a total of 22 drabbles, in between "gifts" and actual challenge responses… It has taken me time to edit them, but I decided to give it some more effort today, as challenge 212 started yesterday! (oh, the dread…! I'm so late!)

This also happens to be the challenge I enjoyed the most, with the drabble "Lone Wolf," and the infamous drabble series "Dishonesty" starting. For it, I created the "Open Balcony" blog, which is accessible through my personal webpage; such a blog is used for _other_ stuff as well, of course!

* * *

_**No privacy**__ (PG-13):_ Whenever you give a copy of your apartment's key to someone, be sure _nobody_ else has access to it too!

_**Awe**__ (PG-13):_ Gift drabble. Appreciating your lover is always important…

_**Once more**__(PG): _Meetings with people from your past might give you great joy… or make you feel _completely_ miserable.

_**Never again**__ (PG):_ Sequel to "Once more." Determination can make you do the craziest things.

_**Dishonesty**__ (PG):_ A show of what you _shouldn't_ do, in any case… but _everyone_ is doing nowadays!

_**Distraction**__ (PG-13):_ Talk about mischief, really!

_**Tower of Stars**__ (PG-13):_ Sequel to challenge 208's "Absinthe." Insofar, I've been made agree with a reviewer that nannies are such a tremendous convenience for such cases.

_**Hiding something?**__ (PG):_ He just _can't_ let him know he's a _father,_ can he?

_**Vilified**__ (PG-13):_ Parents ruin all the fun at times…

_**Drugged**__ (PG-13):_ Sequel to "Dishonesty." Curiosity killed the cat, by showing him that the flower is sexually ambiguous.

_**Different**__ (PG-13):_ Desire moves on to the next generation.

_**Keyless**__ (PG-13):_ Incest. Has _no other_ description.

_**Life-giving**__ (PG-13):_ Where do babies come from, daddy?

_**Memory-driven**__ (PG):_ They resemble each other so much, it hurts…

_**Dreadful **__(PG-13):_ Sequel to "Drugged." A ruined Valentine's Day, over a simple question.

_**The beginning of it all…**__ (PG-13):_ Why do Chinese kami seem to have a fetish for blond, blue-eyed foreigners, anyways?

_**Matching silks**__ (PG):_ Know your lover's body to perfection, and clothes buying will be a piece of cake!

_**Not who he was hoping… **__(PG):_ Because we know he didn't find him, and that he returned to the very beginning when it was time…

_**Downright**__ (PG-13):_ Denial is bad for your sexual life!

_**Snowflakes**__(PG):_ Long time ago, the old were young, new to the world, ever-learning…

_**Lone Wolf**__ (PG-13):_ Gift drabble. Dark as it only can be, bloody and romantic.

_**Persephone**__ (PG):_ Gift drabble. Hades kidnapped the maiden, took her away from her mother, Demeter…


	35. No privacy

**No privacy**

* * *

Leon was _mad_ at D… again. Still, now it was because that Chinese faggot had came to his apartment, in company of Chris, and had 'cleaned' and 'put everything in order.' More importantly, though: _he had torn down all his posters!_

"Should arrest him for trespassing," he muttered, as he went through his stuff, finding things again and putting them where they rightfully belonged.

Then, he went to replace his poor posters at the walls and ceiling; he _needed _all those sexy chicks, after all…

The main door opened. His eyes met mismatched, which glared in disapproval, posters half restored.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	36. Awe

**Awe**

* * *

The open window let in the rays of the spring sun and the soft breeze. The room was heavenly like that, and more so after _it…_

Vesca was still dreaming off, D guessed, as his hands delicately caressed his lover's resting body, half over him, all his skin bare and in contact with his own.

He was such a marvelous creature. A_ human,_ yet so beautiful and perfect, more like a _god:_ his fair hair, his clear eyes, the strong build of his frame…

His lover shifted, slowly awakening over his caressing. D smirked, grateful.

_He needed him right now._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	37. Once more

**Once more**

* * *

It had been ten years; Leon still hadn't found D, and he'd reached the point where he started thinking that the bastard and his family _didn't_ deserve _his_ life as well; they'd enough with Howell's.

_He was tired of the hunt._ The world made no sense anymore…

"Detective!"

Leon turned around, his eyes meeting D's own. He was as beautiful as always, the very same… _yet so different._

Then, Leon noticed the child he held in his arms, a nearly exact copy of himself, except for matched violet eyes. "Will he be a killer too?"

_He could feel D's regret…_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	38. Never again

**Never again**

* * *

"I _cannot_ do this anymore!"

The grandfather looked at his grandson over the rim of his teacup, glaring with golden eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I _don't_ want to do this… It has been enough _death_ already. I won't take it anymore."

_He could remember having this conversation with his son, once._ Loving humans didn't do them any good…

"What do you plan to do, then?"

He didn't expect meeting such determination in his grandson's eyes. He picked up his child from the couch, then offering him to his grandfather: "If you want our mission accomplished, raise my son yourself!"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	39. Dishonesty

**Dishonesty**

* * *

"There you are, Vesca!"

He jumped up from his seat, turning to face the Chinese student that had slammed the door open, hair a mess and feet hurrying to take him besides the young American. "What happened?" he asked, concerned, as D took a moment to regain his breath.

"I hope you have falsified your father's handwriting at least _once _in your lifetime," he declared, pushing a bunch of papers into his hands. "I need a doctor to sign these."

_Medical profiles, blood type, physical check-ups, and the like…_ "Hell, why? Scared of doctors?" Vesca chuckled.

D stared, then nodded.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	40. Distraction

**Distraction**

* * *

Concentrating in an exam at a professor's office was _difficult_ enough already. Still, D was hidden underneath the table, invisible to everyone but him, his hands roaming over his jeans-clad thighs, purring appreciatively…

"_Holy shit!_" he exclaimed, nearly jumping after the _bastard_ unzipped him and his tongue started working…

The professor looked up from the microscope at another desk. "What is it, Howell? The exam's too hard?"

He could feel D's shoulders shaking with laughter between his legs. Vesca blushed and shook his head, thankful when he could finally throw his apartment's copy key at D. "You win. Go tonight."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	41. Tower of Stars

**Tower of Stars**

* * *

It had taken D two glasses to have his vision blurring, and three to be gone enough to be carried, bridal style, upstairs to lie upon the bed, just like he'd predicted… The room was small, an attic of sorts, or a princess's old tower chamber, candles alight within and the glass doors that replaced the window wide open, the sky the color of Alexander's eyes.

He felt how his heavy traveling cloak was taken off his shoulders, the blood red silk cheongsam below eliciting a low growl from the back of the vampire's throat. "More beautiful than I remember…" he muttered, lightly pushing until D was lying on his back amidst soft pillows of dark, muted colors, the bed right in the middle of the room, almost like an altar.

As the vampire kissed his jaw, unbuttoning the high collar slowly, he managed to remember something… "My baby?" he asked, a slender hand grasping at a solid shoulder.

Alexander cursed, jumped off him and went downstairs, while D slowly rolled on the bed, still a little bit too dizzy. As he lay now upon his belly, he could see a full-length mirror, which reflected the sky seen outside the window. He marveled at the beauty of that clear heavens, and the passing flying birds…

The vampire came back, placing the child on top of his parent's discarded cloak. "There he is. Happy?" _Goodness,_ he sounded desperate! Not only he didn't seem to like the baby, but he also seemed reluctant to take a break from physically worshipping D's body… The Chinese Count purred in delight at the idea, stretching lazily yet gracefully, like a cat, catching the Marquis's attention immediately.

He tried to turn him on his back again, but he wouldn't move, so he got carefully over the other, covering him like a blanket, then starting anew with the collar's buttons in that awkward position, kissing behind his ears. His other hand strayed further down his body's length, managing to go up the side cut and drag those annoying pants down…

D gasped as Alexander met with bare skin, and then moaned aloud as he found something else. "Well, my question as to _how_ did you manage to birth that kid on your own…" he chuckled, suddenly becoming more eager, as well as more generous with his ministrations, which earned him all kinds of signals of pleasure.

The Count looked over at his child, who was staring. He spoke words of reassurance to him in Chinese, and then he attempted to hypnotize him to sleep, but couldn't quite concentrate with Alexander all over him like that… "We are such a _disgrace,_" he whispered, smirking at his reflection on the mirror.

The Marquis met his eyes there, eyes darkened by desire. "You were the one who asked for him to be here," he replied defensively, then laughing lowly.

No more words spoken, they took their time, the mirror shining with the night's stars, and them asleep to greet dawn.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	42. Hiding something?

**Hiding something?**

* * *

They were packing things at D's dorm room, since he was moving out soon. Where to? _Vesca's apartment… _They'd already discussed how it would do them good, so why _not?_

Vesca picked up a framed picture from the desk then, and it caught his attention: it was a picture of D and a child, who sat upon his lap. Both wore nearly identical Chinese clothing, one of blooming flowers, the other of little flower buds. The hair was the same dark shade, and one of the child's eyes was D's violet…

"My sibling," D quickly replied, before he even asked.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	43. Vilified

**Vilified**

* * *

D moaned in delight, bare arms and legs wrapped around Vesca's equally naked body. _'Clingy,'_ he thought for a second, then not caring anymore, as they kept on moving together on the bed…

He heard something in the room, vaguely distinguished a shadow near the open window. His violet eyes couldn't help the instinctual need to protect himself and his lover in this time of vulnerability, glaring in that direction.

Gleaming golden eyes nearly made him gasp with dread. _'Father!' _

Suddenly, he became aware of his lover's _mortality,_ the scent of humanity asphyxiating him…

He screamed in pain and fright.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	44. Drugged

**Drugged**

* * *

D's tea had been drugged. By Vesca, no less!

He'd been nearly comatose for _hours,_ an unexpected side-effect the med school student hadn't been able to predict. Still, it had given him the time he'd needed…

He'd been curious as to _why_ D had made him sign those forms with false information on his health profile for the university, and had set the week's goal to find out the hidden truth, run the tests himself.

He didn't want to know any longer, though; he had the vague suspicion D _wasn't…_

For example, he wasn't _exclusively_ male. That was _strange_ enough!

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	45. Different

**Different**

* * *

"I was afraid," D began one day, setting down his teacup, "that you'd have no manners whatsoever. Father did _never_ refer to your brother nicely, after all." _As honest as he'd ever have him…_

"Well," Chris sighed, leaning back on the shared couch, "guess we're different, regardless of resemblances."

"I'm glad." D crossed his legs, leaning forward a little, smirking. "And am I any different from my father?" he inquired, violet eyes gleaming.

_The desire to possess that body, to have those eyes looking only at him, those hands touching, those dark lips kissing…_

"You're completely different," Chris hoarsely replied.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	46. Keyless

**Keyless**

* * *

The garden was quiet, eerily so, when he got out of the rooms he formally inhabited, wearing a fine ao dai, which clung to his graceful form, his long hair wet from his rather long bath…

He had heard the 'ping' of the elevator, and had just hurried outside, feeling menaced. Nobody should be able to enter his domains!

…_except, perhaps, someone with the same fingerprints as his?_

Violet eyes met golden in the darkness. The cloaked one smirked.

The other sighed in relief, reaching out to kiss his father's lips passionately. "Have you forgiven me yet? I miss you…"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	47. Life giving

**Life-giving**

* * *

"Father, how was I born?"

The Count did his best to find hidden amusement or mockery in his son's face, finding none. He sipped his tea. "Does it matter?"

"I was just wondering." A pause. "So?"

"You're so curious, child…"

"Will you answer, please?" He was becoming exasperated.

"_You just were._"

"That doesn't say much…" He gave up on that question, picking up another: "What am I of you, and you of grandfather?"

"_Duplicates._"

"How does _that_ happen, then?"

"_It just does._"

His son growled in frustration and suddenly left, annoyed.

Did his curiosity mean he was already _feeling it?_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	48. Memory driven

**Memory-driven**

* * *

He remembered those times, back in Albany, when D would ride in the car with him, always seated at the back, being pretty, being annoying or annoyed, or asleep… Now his son did, as they headed back to LA.

The resemblance was startling, _hurting,_ making his throat feel the strain of melancholy. _He wanted to see that son of a bitch again…_ And he would, if the youth honored his word on leading him to D.

Silence reigned in the car. He remembered an unanswered question.

"So, what about your mother?" he asked.

_Jealousy was such a terrible feeling, too…_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	49. Dreadful

**Dreadful**

* * *

Vesca wondered, as he watched D hastily eating the chocolates he'd bought him, about _children._

An unusual thought, but the Count just _didn't_ look manly enough to be able to skip over those questions easily. And he was also… well… _'not exclusively male,'_ from what he'd gathered firstly at the physical test, and, afterwards, each time they had…

"Just tell me you _can't_ get pregnant," he found himself saying suddenly, without really thinking. Vesca blushed as his lover's violet eyes met his in a stare.

"Of course I…!" D stopped, looking confused, head tilting. "You know? I'm not sure."

_Damn!_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	50. The beginning of it all

**The beginning of it all…**

* * *

D lay awake on his bed that night, gratefully not alone, held close by a sleeping Christopher, who adored him so… But he wondered, knowing so much of his kin's past, _when had they started loving humans like that?_ Especially blondes: golden-haired, blue-eyed…

Unfortunately, he'd never know of his ancestor's life before the slaughter, of the time when he'd been as young as he currently was; when his beautiful eyes, identical to his father's, had met with those of a traveling prince, the youngest son of his Empire's ruler, a noble warrior.

Both were forever captivated by the other's presence.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	51. Matching silks

**Matching silks**

* * *

D was one of _those_ who didn't wear the same outfit twice; not even alike to the another! How did he manage to do so, being a _student_ and supposed to be _poor_ like all the others, was still a mystery to him.

And, damn, he was less than grateful when he showed up at their shared apartment after a day out in the city, bringing along _more_ cheongsams, ao dais, kimonos, other whatevers…

"I got a matching one for you, too!" His eagerness was contagious; Vesca complied in putting it on… He was surprised it fit _so perfectly_ fine.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	52. Not who he was hoping

**Not who he was hoping…**

* * *

Twenty years. It had taken him _twenty fucking years,_ but he'd finally found Count D's pet shop again. And, damn it, it had been in New York for God knew how long already!

He didn't bother knocking; he just stomped in, grasped at some pretty elegant silk _dress,_ making D turn to face him with a gasp in the dim light of the parlour. "Finally caught up with you, bastard!"

He barely distinguished something was _off_ with D's eyes, before he was slapped away, falling against the couch…

"Hell, what's going on?" Someone hurried from the back. "D… _Leon!_"

_Chris?!_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	53. Downright

**Downright**

* * *

It had been fine, he had thought, perceiving the Count's sister as _downright hot and sexy…_ and pretty innocent and honest, too; what the Count, he insisted, was _not, _regardless of Jill's trust and her occasional teases.

Well, the _Countess…_ Hell, he would have taken her out on a date, had she remained in LA for a longer period of time, even if D, who'd already shown the over-protectiveness characteristic of older brothers with their younger sisters, _downright opposed._

After she had left the city, he constantly had her on his mind, generally ignoring his previously beloved posters… Until her physical similarities to her brother had her exchanged for the Count, in dreams and while conscious. _That_ was _downright creepy!_

One night, months after he had stopped being able to picture _any woman_ in his fantasies, he lay awake on his bed, staring at the bare ceiling, at the bare walls… He had not been able to keep up with the lie. He had _known_ it would end like this, some day, what with D's ambiguous way of being, the way he looked and the way he flirted.

Still, he still _downright refused_ to accept it…

_He. Was. NOT. Gay._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	54. Snowflakes

**Snowflakes**

* * *

England was a beautiful place, if a little bit cold, compared to several other places he and his papa had lived at. It was the human's homeland, and he'd brought them here for some celebration they called "Christmas." His papa had been _unable_ to resist the pleas, but had _insisted_ they'd find their own place to stay…

They had been walking through a white-blanketed forest, where most animals hid in hibernation, and most plants were dead. He had _nearly_ cried; he _would_ have, had his papa not taken his hand in his reassuringly, and the human had warmed the other with his own too. They both smiled down at him kindly, did their best to explain about the winters he'd never gotten to see at India and China.

Then, soft plumes of white ice started falling all around them, through the frozen pine branches. Knowing they knew what it was, he had asked. The human answered: "It's called snow, too."

He looked down at his feet, buried in the cold yet soft _snow,_ and then looked back up. "It comes from the sky?"

"Yes," his papa replied this time, violet eyes meeting his child's golden, "the snowflakes fall from the sky, at times. They then gather, becoming snow blankets on the ground and on tree branches."

"They're pretty," he innocently said, reaching out with his hand to catch some that fell.

"Indeed, pretty… and _unique._" His papa's eyes fixed themselves on the human's blue ones, and the blond man continued: "They might all seem alike, beyond being simple twins. Yet, upon closer inspection, you find their differences. How unique, how beautiful, and how special they are…" he trailed off, and both adults had _those_ looks in their eyes.

_Yuck!_ They better _not_ kiss _here!_ He was having _fun…;_ they better _behave._ "You think so?" his papa breathlessly replied, a light blush on his cheeks. Seemed they _wouldn't_ behave… "But who cares, really?" he chuckled and smirked. "Nobody looks at them _that_ closely."

"_I do._" His papa turned his face away, his grip on his little hand tightening. "I tend to make a personal hobby in telling things that look alike apart," the human muttered to himself, glancing down at him. He knelt to an even eye-level, his free hand petting the child's short black hair. "Do you want to head back home?"

He truly wasn't asking _him;_ he was indirectly asking his _papa._ "I think we should," the other adult had replied, reaching down to lift his child into his arms' warm embrace. He caressed his cheek lovingly, stubbornly averting the human's gaze, knowing his own was as dark as the night… "It's cold."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	55. Lone Wolf

**Lone Wolf**

* * *

Whenever someone mentioned the name _Vesca Howell,_ he couldn't help picturing an old, tired and lonely grey wolf with ice blue eyes. Each time he saw him walk by the offices, he could associate his actions with such a wolf's behavior, too…

He generally growled at people aggressively, as if they would jump out to hurt him, or mock and shun him; he was intimidating, not to be stomped by any, but it was obvious that, on the inside, he didn't feel at peace and he wasn't as sure of himself. He'd been alone for such a long time, trust was hard to establish…

Only times he behaved even remotely enthusiastic, it reminded him of the wolf once more, in a state of severe starvation and faced by a lonely deer. It was a scary sight, whenever another clue on his personal case jumped up at them; he became obsessed, and rather vicious. Nobody that knew him wanted to cross his way, those days…

And then, all clues had finally led to the elusive Chinese man that went by the name of "Count D," the effeminate creature Vesca Howell had given twenty sad years of his life to find. Suddenly, it became hard to distinguish his reasons to do so: actual wish to bring a dangerous mind down and behind the bars, or lust and desire over a mysterious being…

His gun had been pointed at the Chinese man since they'd stomped into the laboratory. The look on those violet eyes, though, didn't show shock or fright or anything that had any logic; they were taunting, those dark lips smirking coldly. Then, they all understood the pair had met before, that they were personal nemesis of one another…

Vesca Howell turned around, gun fixed on one of his FBI companions' forehead. The vicious grey wolf with the ice blue eyes was back again, snarling savagely at the gathering. He wasn't alone anymore, though; a gracious black wolf with violet eyes was right behind him, the grin showing long, sharp and perfectly white fangs…

One lonely wolf is rarely a menace. Two wolves are already a pack, and are highly dangerous, especially when mated like that. Their howl freezes the warm blood running through their prey's veins, blood that they'll later relish on themselves…

_At least,_ he thought, _the lone wolf had finally found what he was looking for._

None survived.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	56. Persephone

**Persephone**

* * *

He knew him from before. He had even held him dear… Still, he couldn't help feeling his blood boil within his veins as he saw him besides his son, his _beautiful and pure child!_

"Christopher, it's been such a long time," D politely said, with one of his little smiles. His son frowned in distrust, getting closer to the FBI agent. "It's good to see you again."

"Hey, well…" Chris blushed, but his D interrupted before he could continue:

"I chose this path, father." '_He didn't force me.'_ He wasn't a kidnapped Persephone, as his father had _wanted_ to think…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	57. 210: Fame

Challenge #210: **Fame**

More editing effort, for you all to enjoy of the complete collection of drabbles sooner! (Current challenge is still 212, by the way; shame on me!)

This one had _way_ less responses than the previous challenge, only hitting 16; it was quite hard to find things I could write about _fame,_ of all things. _And _most were gift drabbles… Hope you do enjoy, anyways.

* * *

_**Humble**__ (PG):_ When someone you hold dear is distressed, you should be there to comfort them… (Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Unwanted Nickname**__ (PG):_ Beware of sudden slips of the tongue! (150 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell, Albert)

_**Discretion**__ (PG-13):_ Nothing is more satisfactory than realizing you took the best choice during a difficult decision (Dishonesty arc; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Next in the line…**__ (PG):_ Everyone has dreaded this moment, but he's been waiting all his life… (150 words; Chris Orcot)

_**Reputation **__(PG-13):_ With work partners like this, you _really_ don't need enemies! (444 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Seven Deadly Sins**__ (PG-13):_ Not precisely a saint, is he? (150 words, gift drabble; Leon Orcot)

_**Seven Holy Virtues **__(PG-13):_ A lifetime of being a martyr, and a rather undignified death in the end (200 words, gift drabble; Vesca Howell)

_**Midnight Forest Serenade**__ (PG):_ Some have been gifted beyond what's reasonable, with physical beauty, a sharp and intelligent mind… and an angel's voice (Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Ringlet**__ (PG): _Saying "yes" when you mean "no" can only hurt you in the future… (Rau Wu Fei "Taizu," Count D)

_**The Most Wanted **__(PG-13):_ And he didn't know, but he had a fanclub at the petshop already! (150 words; Chris Orcot, Young D, Honlon, Pon-chan, T-chan)

_**Delicate**__ (PG-13):_ What a sick sense of humor, really! (400 words, gift drabble, Dishonesty arc; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Mythbuster**__ (PG):_ Hopefully, he didn't walk in at an improper time… (Leon Orcot)

_**Linux**__ (PG):_ A dedicatory for my certification course, mainly (200 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell, penguins!)

_**Coldest Night**__ (PG-13):_ Humans may only cause you suffering, child (400 words, Devious Parents arc; Sofu D, Sousofu D, Kousofu D)

_**Distressed**__ (PG-13):_ He's already has his heir. He can't have any other child… and he suffers for it (gift drabble, Dishonesty arc; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Handcuff'd!**__ (PG-13):_ Drinks that are too sweet and don't taste or smell to alcohol _aren't_ necessarily free of intoxicating substances (300 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)


	58. Humble

**Humble**

* * *

"I know you don't want to get out to celebrate right now," Vesca's voice reached his ears, and he looked up to see him at the doorstep, "but I insist you should, at least, do it in private." He placed a small pastry upon the bedside table as an offering.

D smiled appreciatively, though it was a sad expression… "Why should I? Credit went to the professor."

"_You did it,_ just the same," Vesca replied. "Didn't want all the attention, I know, but it doesn't negate the facts."

"I guess…" He reached out to take the little plate. "Thank you."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	59. Unwanted Nickname

**Unwanted Nickname**

* * *

"And that's why I _don't_ want to date you, Albert." An uncomfortable pause followed, with the aforementioned baffled speechless, while Count D stood there, hands clasped at his front, violet eyes unforgiving of the annoyance before them.

Vesca was leaning against a nearby bookshelf, arms crossed over his chest, a deep frown on his face. He _didn't like it_ that his friend was being rejected like that; he didn't want Albert to keep courting D either, though…

"Let's go, penguin," D suddenly said. He gasped as soon as he realized it, though, covering his lips with a delicate hand… to keep from _giggling._ Vesca glared his way, blushing.

"_What_ did he call you, Vesca?" Albert sounded amused… He wouldn't put it past him to inform the whole university, as some sort of vengeance. He was such a sore loser, and he definitely hadn't liked knowing they were an item.

_Damn…_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	60. Discretion

**Discretion**

* * *

He'd found an unusual thing, and he knew it. Science may greatly benefit from the knowledge it could acquire through the investigation of _this…_ Hell, he might even become famous someday!

Yet Vesca couldn't bring himself to point at D's uniqueness like that, shout it out loud for all the world to hear, for the Count to be contacted politely before he was forced to remain within a research center for the rest of his life, just because he was _slightly_ different…

And, as he held him in his arms, after that marvelous first time, he didn't regret his decision.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	61. Next in the line…

**Next in the line…**

* * *

They'd all heard of it, at some point or another of working for the FBI: Vesca Howell and his perpetually unsolved case on Count D. The man had thrown away twenty years of his life, just to find the bastard in the end… and die in an explosion, along with him.

Leon Orcot, a simple LA detective, had _also_ been there, following that who he claimed was _another_ Count D, yet he'd _survived._ Survived for what, though? For disappearing as soon as he was out of the hospital… He'd not been seen or heard of for twenty years now; only certainty anybody had was that he wasn't within the USA's borders anymore.

So, when "Count D" started appearing in reports at the FBI again, they'd dreaded it. Two men had gone down already; nobody wanted the case…

"This one is mine!"

And _Christopher Orcot_ was the next in the line.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	62. Reputation

**Reputation**

* * *

The smell of freshly baked pastries had all the people at the office drooling within seconds. They saw Count D pass by them with a little basket, heading for Orcot's desk… as always. And they weren't sure if their attention had been caught and their envy towards the detective had been sparked alive by his beauty or by the loot…

"Good evening, gentlemen," he politely greeted in passing, his smile captivating.

_Not fair Leon Orcot got all that!_ He didn't even appreciate it, after all!

Count D sat at the empty desk, placing the basket on a clear spot, and proceeding to patiently wait for Orcot to return. The officers nearby, though, didn't intend it to be a peaceful wait…

"Hey, did you hear?" they feigned starting a conversation, as if not noticing the Count's presence, whose back was to them. "Orcot's got a new girl." They saw his shoulders stiffening, and they elbowed each other to elaborate further.

"Yeah, heard of it," another continued. "Though that'd be the second…"

"The _third_ this week, not the _second._" They saw him tapping his long fingernails on the desk's surface.

"Damn him! And it's _Wednesday!_" Others approached when prompted to, quick whispers informing of the situation and the end pursued…

"That wouldn't be a record, though. Do you remember, two months ago, when he dated _three_ chicks at the same time?"

"Ah, but nothing like last month's catch!" one exclaimed, his chuckle one of _those,_ perfectly enacted for the moment. "One of the girls two floors below…" he trailed off, and they all uttered random noises or words of approval, some whistles and secretive chuckles heard as well.

"Heard they got caught?"

"Yeah, at the restroom." They saw how the Count's hand flew up to cover his lips, probably to keep from gasping in shock or something… "_Was there;_ they were rather loud, and messy… The chief almost had him suspended for the week."

They saw the detective coming their way, though he seemed as clueless as always of the inner workings of other people's minds… "Shut up; he's coming!" They all stood in attention, not failing to notice how the Count's head had turned to face Orcot, his expression summarized in a deep frown and a killer glare. He stood up from the desk's chair slowly.

"Hey, guys!" Orcot greeted them; they all greeted back, and sparked no suspicions. "Eh… D?" Face to face with the Count, he staggered backwards.

…_not fast enough, though._

The slap echoed in the whole office, stopping all talk and typing hands. Everyone looked up just in time to see how Count D stomped off, followed by a cursing Orcot.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	63. Seven Deadly Sins

**Seven Deadly Sins**

* * *

_Pride_ is what makes him return to the pet shop at first. How can a Chinese crossdresser best him, an American _detective?_

_Sloth_ makes him slow with time. He's not progressing, so why bother putting any effort?

_Gluttony_ is the only proper name for what pushes him to be present at every hour Count D serves tea…

_Greed_ for recovering his lost time, having all the money for himself alone again, makes him place his brother Chris under D's care.

_Envy_ over D's apparent richness makes him want to prove he can do better! So he organizes a small vacation… which neither would remember afterwards.

_Wrath,_ over how he took Monica's death; _so lightly._ How inhumane can Count D be, really!

_Lust_ is what drives him forward after he's thrown off the ship that sailed through the clouds. He can understand Howell now; meet any D, he becomes your life…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	64. Seven Holy Virtues

**Seven Holy Virtues**

* * *

_Charity_ made him chose such a career; he wished to save lives! Except, of course, _med school_ wasn't his path to that goal…

_Temperance_ was some _very needed_ thing whenever he was around Count D. Too many sweets, too many different drinks and delicious dishes… Everything as tempting as that who offered them!

_Humility_ was something he learned from D… or so he guessed. At the time, he'd only seen the student who didn't claim any credit for his work.

_Kindness_ from his friends was what helped him overcome the grief and frustration when D had disappeared from SUNY. He'd never shored up the courage…

_Patience_ got him to Washington two years later, to _nearly _catch a criminal. He'd been _so surprised_ to know his name.

_Diligence_ helped him the next twenty years. He never strayed off his course, with the hope that he'd find that bastard at last… though, half way, he'd forgotten what for.

_Chastity_ was something he realized he'd kept since he'd first seen those violet eyes. He didn't know if that was good or not, but, for the briefest of moments, before everything went downhill, he'd believed he would finally find his rest in D's embrace.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	65. Midnight Forest Serenade

**Midnight Forest Serenade**

* * *

"Don't you ever _sing?_"

D had started aware from watching the dancing flames only to shake his head slightly, smirk on his dark lips firmly set. _Vesca hated that smirk._

"Why not?" one of the girls at the gathering around the campfire whined.

"I just _don't._"

Random mutters of disapproval, which the Count ignored. They stopped to be replaced by broken popular lyrics and an acoustic guitar accompaniment.

When they insisted _Vesca_ try to play something, when he'd _finally_ started to give it a free tune, unknown and natural, the voice of an angel was the only other sound.

_Delightful…_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	66. Ringlet

**Ringlet**

* * *

It was a known fact Count D was the only one who'd _ever_ bested Rau Wu Fei. It was also very well known in Kabuki-chou that their Taizu had decided to give up on his usual tactic, applying another: 'if you can't win against them, join them.'

_He'd actually proposed to the Count!_

The most widespread rumor in a while, it kindled Kabuki-chou's already hyperactive life! Still, most of them knew something else. Even when the Count had initially said 'yes,' if only for his own amusement… he'd forever mean it as a 'no.'

_His heart was taken, they knew._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	67. The Most Wanted

**The Most Wanted**

* * *

It was the most unexpected, they had to admit: Chris Orcot, who'd departed their Eden long ago, returning on his own free will. News had lasted a whole day to run through the whole pet shop, though, to reach from the first to the last of the creatures that inhabited it…

_And Count D was being especially careful not to say a thing himself._

"He's a crybaby; don't mind him."

"No, he's not! He was such a sweet child, surely he's a great man now!"

"And only a noble one could be our master…"

The toutetsu glared at the females, and whispered angrily at them, as D went off with an uncharacteristically absent-minded expression on his face: "Hey, we're supposed to _discourage him_ of getting to Christopher! At the usual pace the Counts move on humans, we'll have _nothing_ left! It'll be just like his brother, except we'll be sorry."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	68. Delicate

**Delicate**

* * *

Vesca choked on his soda after D had finished talking_. _"_What?_" he demanded as he jumped up from his seat, not sure he'd heard right, and thankful they were alone at his apartment, in case he _had heard right._

"I… I think… I think I _might_ be…" D hesitated, looking ashamed and highly distressed, too, "I have _certain reasons_ to believe I _might_ be…" He sealed his beautiful dark lips shut then, as Vesca could not manage to drop the stare of disbelief.

_Shit… It had happened. It _was_ possible, and it _had_ happened…_

"Don't look at me like that!" D whined, eyes shining with unshed tears before he hid his face in his hands. "It has already been _uncomfortable enough!_" He appeared to be sobbing then, and it pained Vesca to see D as he was right now.

_Damn, it was _partially_ his fault. He should be more considerate… _Except it was still some freaky business, and it'd take time to get accustomed to it.

"Hey, look, D, I'm sorry," he whispered, kneeling by his chair and squeezing one of his knees reassuringly. He didn't drop his hands from his face, or turn around to face him, or say anything… "I… I know it must be hard for you… I'm sorry," he said again, caressing his lover's silk-clad thigh. "I'll help you out whichever way I can, I promise!" he quickly added, deciding it might be the best way to calm D down. "I won't…"

He fell quiet then, though, as he realized the light trembling of D's shoulders wasn't over _sobbing._ He was actually _laughing!_

After a minute or so of silence, though, D let his hands down and Vesca was left to _glare_ at the smirking Chinese student, who kept on chuckling amusedly, violet eyes shining mischievously. "_April Fool's, dear Vesca,_" he purred, pointing at the calendar at the wall.

He cursed aloud as he realized the Count was _right._ Hell, what a _terrible_ joke it'd been! Still… "Are you _sure?_" he muttered his question, barely keeping restraint on his rage over such a prank.

"Oh, Vesca, _don't be stupid._ How could I _ever_ get pregnant? Regardless of some merely physical details, I assure you, I'm fully male."

_Goddamned near heart attack, though!_ Vesca glared daggers at D, and growled lowly: "You're in for a nasty revenge!"

"And some _very special_ make up sex, I'd dare thinking…"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	69. Mythbuster

**Mythbuster**

* * *

One day, he'd wanted to prove something he'd seen on TV…

When D visited at the police department, he'd dragged him over to the copy machine, slapped his hand down flat on it, and pressed start. "_Detective, _what do you _think_ you're doing!" The copy was spat from the machine, and he released D, chuckling.

"Just going to do an experiment." He left him there, heading for his car…

Passing through a seldom-visited lobby, he went for the elevator, pressing the copy to the panel. The automated voice spoke in greeting, and Leon grinned; _it worked!_

…what a security hole.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	70. Linux

**Linux**

* * *

"Hi, penguin! Penguin!"

Vesca _tried_ to feign he _didn't_ know the crazy Chinese effeminate man that was currently leaning _way too forward_ at the penguin exhibition, calling them over and waving. He took out a cigarette, turning his back on D and _hoping against all hope_ he'd stop being _obsessed_ over those freaking animals…

_Hell, he even called him 'penguin' at times!_

"Oh, I see your wife liked the penguins," one of the zoo's caretakers approached, chuckling.

Vesca blushed, then glared. "_He_ is not…" he tried saying, but the cigarette made it a mumble.

"Well, those penguins _are_ quite popular," the caretaker kept on, explaining. "Happens one of them was _adopted_ by a group of Linux users, you know? Their mascot _is_ the penguin, after all… They receive many visits every year!"

Vesca retried with his glare, and the caretaker just shut up and walked away, muttering something around the lines of 'sorry for disturbing you, sir.' It was then, when _silence_ reigned, that he realized _D_ had quieted down as well…

"D?" he asked hesitantly, one hand on his shoulder.

He turned abruptly, violet eyes curious. "What's _Linux,_ again?"

Hell, he _was_ going to ask for a computer now…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	71. Coldest Night

**Coldest Night**

* * *

His grandpapa was visiting them at home, quite unexpectedly appearing a day after the human had left to go at some place named "War," leaving his papa distressed…

The golden eyes of his grandpapa, same as his own, were fixed upon his papa's figure, who stood by the window, looking outside at the pitch black darkness of the night as if seeking something.

"He won't come back," his grandpapa said, and his papa trembled, grasping the window's frame tighter. "The assassinated prince has caused such great movement of soldiers, from all nations… Many have died this past month, _more than usual_ for a war. One could say that, at this pace, the humans will exterminate each other completely, and we'll be left at peace…"

His grandpapa seemed pleased as he brought his cup of tea to his lips, while his papa was covering his own with his hand, as if to keep from screaming… "He _will_ come back," he whispered after a minute. "He _has _to come back."

"He _won't._" How could his grandpapa be so sure? He obviously knew _where_ "War" was at, and what happened there… He sat at his feet carefully, and the eldest looked down at him with a kind smile. "Yes, my dear grandson?"

"Where is 'War,' grandfather?" he asked curiously.

The eldest sighed, placing his teacup aside. "_War_ is some _very_ lonely and distressful place, my child, which _humans_ invented to solve their problems… _killing each other._" Humans _killed_ each other, to solve their problems? Not even the wildest of beasts in the kingdom of animals and plants did _that…_

"Then why did the kind gentleman go there? He knows he can _die,_" he heard his papa shuffling, but did not turn to look, "so _why?_"

"Humans aren't reasonable creatures; they don't get pushed by their survival instinct anymore…" His golden eyes lifted to glance at his papa. "Which is why it is a _mistake_ to be so close to them. They cause you pain, by doing the most idiotic of things all the time…" Gaze back to him, he added, whispering: "You should _never_ do as your father has done, my child. Beware of the humans, for your own good."

He would _never_ become close to one, then. _Ever._

And he didn't, _ever._ Instead, he fell in love with a rarer creature, which survived on the blood of the humans he so despised…

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	72. Distressed

**Distressed**

* * *

The make up sex _was_ quite good, and awesomely wild too. He had such good premonitions, at times…

Except that, as he lay awake besides a sleeping Vesca, D couldn't help but sigh sadly, staring at the ceiling in the darkness of his room.

_April's Fools,_ indeed… He had joked about being _pregnant_ with his lover's child, having remembered Valentine's day, when he'd been asked if that was possible.

He thought it was such a misfortune that _it wasn't possible._ Not any longer, anyways…

D hugged Vesca tighter against his body, burying his face in his neck, and tried sleeping.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	73. Handcuff’d!

**Handcuff'd!**

* * *

D was reluctant, yet, as Leon kept on insisting they do, he conceded him a 'date' that Friday evening. He took him to a rather popular place he knew, which he could pay for both of them…

He allowed Leon to order the drinks, turning his attention to scan their surroundings with distaste. He failed to notice the detective signaling something to the waiter, and receiving a knowing nod in response.

The drink was sweet, delightfully so. Leon swore there was no alcohol in it, and he _could_ believe his words, not being able to point out any of it by smell or taste. Considering his heightened senses, he could pass it as safe…

Still, half-way through the glass, while they dined, he had started feeling a little bit dizzy and too warm for comfort. The detective offered him they end their 'date' early, since it would be better for him to rest. Who knew, could he have fallen ill?

From then and until this moment, he didn't remember a thing. He felt relaxed, though, as he lay amidst soft pillows on a comfortable mattress…

Which wasn't his own. Didn't smell like usual, either; cigarettes, beer, sweat… _And_ he could feel the sheets against his _bare skin._

D also noticed his arm was numb for having it 'up,' cold metal around his wrist. He looked up, seeing he was handcuffed to a bedpost.

He heard a chuckle, and he glanced over to the doorstep to Leon's bathroom, where he was standing. His mismatched eyes glared. "Detective, _what_ is the meaning of _this?_" he actually growled. "_Why_ am I handcuffed to a _bed?_"

"_Told you_ I was getting those handcuffs on you someday." The detective leant against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "_Never_ told you how, anyways."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	74. 211: Marriage

Challenge #211: **Marriage**

Currently on challenge 213 at the LiveJournal community. I'm catching up! Sorry for being so slow...

* * *

_**Wedding**__ (PG):_ When you're at the university, you tend to have very mischievous friends. Do beware! (300 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Broken Paramour**__ (PG):_ Having your lover marry another is always painful… (Sofu D)

_**Blood Red**__ (PG-13):_ Commitment beyond the world's logic and values is both beautiful and the cause of horror and repulsion (sequel to Lone Wolf; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Just in time…**__ (PG-13):_ Saved from the worst mistake of his life. Let's just hope he doesn't stray once more (444 words, sequel to Ringlet; Count D, Leon Orcot, Rau Wu Fei "Taizu")

_**Sold to the highest bidder**__ (PG):_ Arranged marriages are common among Chinese people, apparently… (Young D, Count D, Chris Orcot, Leon Orcot)

_**Silliness**__ (PG-13):_ Getting laughed at after sex and proposing isn't funny (tribute to _Telanu's __**Sadie, Sadie;**_Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Rivalry**__ (PG-13):_ Two individuals fighting for the attentions of another… who is entirely oblivious! (444 words; Sofu D, Norma, Marquis Alexander)

_**Deject**__ (PG-13):_ Human males tend to become angered when rejected by a creature they highly desire (400 words; Kami priestess, Chinese prince)

_**Kunlun**__ (PG):_ Congratulations on your tenth anniversary. My gift for you is… (150 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Divorce**__ (PG):_ The parents of a dear one getting apart hurts you as well (Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Not thinking**__ (PG-13):_ Desiring for familiarity and being too tired shouldn't mix. Only problems ensue! (250 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Scheherazade**__ (PG-13):_ The groom's getting cold feet, isn't he? (400 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Bedside**__ (PG):_ Until death do us apart, my beloved (123 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell)


	75. Wedding

**Wedding**

* * *

He checked on his tie again as D finished doing his long hair in some fancy way Vesca couldn't even begin to _comprehend._ "They didn't tell me much," he said. "Only that we should be at Albert's place before five."

"_Still,_ it's a wedding, Vesca; we can't just _not go,_ if we were _invited…_" D reasoned, turning on his heels in front of the full-length mirror. He smiled at himself in approval.

"Ok, let's go."

As he opened the door to the back for D, who refused to ride on the car with him in the passenger seat, he excitedly asked: "I think it'd be _Marissa._ You know how her boyfriend loves her… Surely he proposed?"

Vesca started the car, sighing. "Butch's a coward. I doubt it."

"Then _who_ is getting married?"

"Told you: they didn't say much. 'Be there by five o'clock,' they said." Silence reigned in the car afterwards, only interrupted by the radio set at a very low volume.

They got to Albert's, a pretty big house which yelled of his socioeconomic status _more_ than the fucking boat at the Mediterranean resort. With a frown, Vesca parked at the front, besides the cars of his other friends.

Immediately at entering the house, everyone's gazes snapped to look at them; D didn't mind much, accustomed to receiving attention, but Vesca felt a little bit _uncomfortable_ with those happy smiles that could only mean…

"Ok, who are you setting up?" he growled lowly. D glanced at him, his expression vaguely worried. Everything was quiet then. Everyone else's smiles became smirks. "_No. Way._"

Really, _no way!_ "Vesca…?" Hell, even _D,_ of all people, seemed to be _crept out_ by the situation

"Lock the doors!" someone shouted, before they had a chance to run away from their own set up wedding.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	76. Broken Paramour

**Broken Paramour**

* * *

"Alexander invited you to _his wedding_ with Isabelle. Isn't he a dear?" his violet-eyed son was reading the letter they'd received that morning, smirking in amusement, a slap of rebellion against his father.

The Count glared from his seat at the parlour. "I already told him what I think of _her_ and of _his foolish plans…_"

"He didn't _listen,_ though," his son interrupted in a sing-song voice, "or he _wouldn't_ be proceeding with _this._" He gracefully sat at his feet, placing the letter on his lap: "Do assist, father," he added, being serious at last.

D sighed, heartbroken. "I shall…"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	77. Blood Red

**Blood Red**

* * *

The pool of blood was still _warm_ beneath their naked skins, as their bodies cooled down after their passionate encounter. _Twenty years of waiting for it…_ The fact that they shared a room with a dozen corpses of mutilated FBI agents didn't seem as important as it should be.

One of D's porcelain white fingers dragged over the stained floor, scooping a fair amount of drying blood. He pressed it against Vesca's lips, smirking. "Blood of my enemies, that you have shed to honor me. Deep red, the color of passion…"

"…and a Chinese wedding." He licked his finger clean.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	78. Just in time

**Just in time…**

* * *

After much planning, both in the traditional way of the Chinese, with Grandfather surprising him speechless by _actually_ showing up to have his dealings with Rau Wu Fei's own family, and the Western way, planning the contracts to be signed and the _honeymoon,_ the wedding was set for the first days of August…

The ring on his finger weighed as if the whole world was incrusted on it, instead of a simple _natural_ star ruby, accompanied by small _natural_ diamonds in an expensive golden band. He couldn't yet begin to _understand_ when had his game with the mortal had become _a serious event_ that menaced to change his _life._

Grandfather seemed amused, though… _That's_ why he'd showed up, to do it 'the right way,' honoring their homeland's customs. He'd also bothered with some _special_ arrangements to the legal papers, molding it to some form that paralleled the pet shop's. _Taizu wouldn't know what hit him…_

Dressed fully in red silk with golden embroidery, he had presented himself at a place of Taizu's choosing, where everyone of importance for the ceremony had already gathered. His throat wouldn't let more air in, his heart beat painfully in his chest, as he walked to stand by him.

'_I don't want to marry him…'_ He had realized, too late, that he _wanted_ someone else…

The doors were kicked open then, and officers of the law burst inside, armed to the teeth, quick and silent and effective in their movement to surround the people. "What's the meaning of this?" Taizu demanded, grasping him by the arm as if he was already of his propriety.

"Just an attempt of arrest of a Chinese mafia sonofabitch."

'_That voice!'_ He sighed in relief, his heart fluttering in joy, his cheeks taking on a light blush… "Detective Orcot!"

Leon seemed rather startled to see him there and then, as the officers and the gathering moved in the background, ignored by them both. As they took a yelling Rau Wu Fei away, along with several key men of his business that were present at the moment, he realized the American had approached to stand right in front of him.

"It's _you,_" he whispered, reaching out to stroke his cheek lightly. He sighed, closing his eyes. "It's truly _you…_" Leon trailed off, leaning down to kiss him.

It was an incredibly delightful kiss, the raw need of ten or so years, the want planted since the first time they'd seen each other… They moaned into it, wrapping their arms around each other, blocking the world out of their little bubble.

"And so, the graceful mare eloped with the crass donkey," Grandfather muttered, before he left.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	79. Sold to the highest bidder

**Sold to the highest bidder**

* * *

"I can't believe you've _dared_ to do something like this to _me,_ Father!"

D chuckled, placing his teacup on its saucer. "Arranging marriages _is_ a pretty common thing, for us, the Chinese…"

His son glared for a minute or two, before he went off to Heaven knows where, the red silk of his cheongsam bright against the darkness.

Still, all his intention to sulk vanished when he was dragged over to the parlour once more, as his intended _husband_ had arrived… "Christopher?" he asked breathlessly.

Leon and D exchanged smirks as they watched both youths, pleased with the set up.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	80. Silliness

**Silliness**

* * *

It pleased him always, how D forgot all about dignity and speaking English, how his cold exterior shattered whenever they made love… like they had just done, lacking all care for the fact that _this_ was D's son and his husband's place.

_D's son and his husband, indeed…_

"What are you _thinking_ of now, Vesca?" D whispered, back to his annoyingly smug self.

"Marriage." He turned to look at his violet-eyed lover, noticing he wasn't smirking any longer; he seemed startled… "You and I." Silence. "So long in this endless dance… _Why not, D?_"

He didn't expect him to _laugh._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	81. Rivalry

**Rivalry**

* * *

One could say the three of them had lived a "children's friendship" for most of the time they'd known each other… When had it became an "adult's friendship," full of unspoken thoughts and desires, nobody knew.

Alexander's charms had suddenly become_ irresistible_ to the other two, Norma and Count D, and the pair wasn't blind to each other's wish to be his "one and only." Meanwhile, the common object of desire didn't even _know_ there was a struggle for his attentions…

Taking advantage of his chosen condition as a _male,_ Count D was the one who found being close to Alexander the easiest. They could go to places _Norma_ couldn't enter, for one, and the Marquis was also more likely to entrust a "fellow" rather than a _woman_ with certain little information, secrets, doubts and desires. As well, he knew of many ways to charm an individual, and he'd employed them all multiple times in the past, always successful.

Still, it was _Norma_ the one who could cause great shame to befall upon the Count at the worst of times, making him depart from their side and leave Alexander all for herself. Balls, social gatherings, restaurants, and other situations where she could make fun of his "unusual" outfits and sexually ambiguous way of being. On a dare, she'd made him wear a tuxedo once; she'd _not_ stopped finding ways to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible back then…

Another example of such a thing was that they, as _vampires,_ could shapeshift into _bats,_ and D could _not…_ But he _had tried,_ when the teasing from Norma had been too much to bear any longer. Except he'd _not_ achieved it "correctly," and had came out a _Valvertinger,_ not a _bat._ Even _Alexander_ had laughed, and it had taken them both over a month to convince him to start talking to them again.

Then, the war had split their tight union, sending them in completely different directions: Norma had taken refuge at the Netherlands, Alexander had flown to France, and Count D had left for his native China. A miraculous summoning by the Marquis, years later, had them together once more for a rather _unhappy_ situation…

"_What?!_" both Norma and D had shrieked, unbelieving.

"I'm marrying Isabelle," Alexander repeated to them, still blind to his friends' true feelings for him. "I love her," he added unhelpfully.

The other two, the vampire and the Nature deity, turned to look out the window, at the garden where the innocent maiden was at, offering cookies to D's child. Then they had exploded in unison, listing several reasons, made up and real, for Alexander to avoid such a union.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	82. Deject

**Deject**

* * *

"_Why_ are you rejecting me so?"

_Oh, for the love of…_ There he was, again. Sighing and annoyed, she snapped her fan shut and twirled on her heels to face him. "I _do not_ love you. Not even _desire_ you," she replied. "Is that _not_ enough of a good reason not to marry you? Now, _leave me alone._"

Her back to him, she started to walk away… Yet he had reached out, grasped her arm, pushed her against a nearby wall of the dark and lonely palace hall, and, before she could scream, he was forcefully kissing her, pressing his body to hers, one hand left with the task of holding hers away while the other worked on undressing her.

He pulled away to whisper against her lips: "I _will_ get what I want, I assure you… And you will be left alone, dishonored forever, a fatherless child your only, as _nobody else_ will desire you any longer."

Her efforts to fight him off doubled, yet her strength was lessened by her fright and bested by his own. As she felt his hand upon her bare skin, while he kissed her again, she shed a tear of desperation…

Growing vines wrapped themselves tightly around his wrists and ankles, climbing up his arms and legs, attempting to reach his neck and torso to asphyxiate him. He immediately pulled away, trying to make the vines stop in their intent. "What kind of wicked magic craft is this?" he growled, still bound.

He noticed they were sprouting from her body, though he couldn't clearly see, in the darkness, how were they doing so. He reached out for a short dagger he always carried with him, and he savagely cut the vines before they choked him. The priestess didn't even blink, holding her robe in place with her hands, the sash's bow undone.

"You… _You_ are not _human,_" he muttered, sheathing the dagger again, the vines that remained retreating into the female's body once more.

"What made you _ever_ think otherwise, milord?" she whispered back, looking down at her feet. She heard him huff, before he stomped away. She felt relieved then, knowing he wouldn't be back with such an insane proposal, hoping he wouldn't attempt to rape her _ever_ again… least he wanted her to _kill him._

No way to guess, though, that he'd send his army on her and all her kin.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	83. Kunlun

**Kunlun**

* * *

For their tenth anniversary, D had insisted upon visiting the Kunlun mountain range. If Leon's memory wasn't already failing him, that had to be his birthplace… so he'd agreed.

Still, _nothing_ had prepared him for the hidden palace in the middle of the mountains, or to be congratulated, too late, on his nuptials with D by an old acquaintance of the kami's, the lady Xi Wang Mu.

"Do join me for tea, Count, Leon Orcot," she invited, guiding them to a garden by a clear lake. She offered them the most delightful dessert he'd ever eaten…

"Peaches?" he inquired, hoping he'd not be taken as rude.

"The peaches of immortality, my dear Leon," D had replied.

"A special gift for your tenth anniversary," Xi Wang Mu added. "May you keep your vow, as you have until now…"

"I do not wish you to die," D whispered, before lovingly kissing him.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	84. Divorce

**Divorce**

* * *

"_Hell._"

D looked up from the open book upon the desk, seeing how Vesca had thrown the letter he'd been reading aside. He supported his chin on a delicate hand. "What's wrong, Vesca?" he asked politely, knowing it wasn't like him to curse.

"My parents," the American student replied, "they have been granted the divorce they've sought for so long." _Oh…_

What to say now, without Vesca contributing further? What did he _think_ or _feel_ on the matter, anyways?

"I'm sorry to hear that," he whispered softly, his hand placed upon Vesca's.

It was all the needed reassurance and support.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	85. Not thinking

**Not thinking**

* * *

It had been such a _long, boring and tiring_ day at work… He hadn't even had the strength or will to drive by the pet shop and see how Chris was doing. _Hell…_

Opening his apartment door, he saw everything _clean and arranged,_ and felt slightly put off… He looked around the room and saw D at the kitchenette, doing whatever.

Dragging his feet, he approached. "Oh, detective," D greeted vaguely, glancing over his shoulder, "good even…" but Leon interrupted him with a kiss, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him closer.

A shocked gasp later or so, they both moaned into it, and he felt D's long fingernails upon his shoulders, as D clung to him for support. Leon just deepened the kiss at that.

They let go to _breathe,_ panting and feeling an aura of heat all around. They looked into each other's eyes, which had darkened with desire and…

_D slapped him. Hard, all sharp fingernails._

"What the _Hell!_" Leon yelled at him, pushing him away.

D huffed indignantly, hands on his narrow hips. "Detective, _I_ should be the one asking _you_ that." He stomped away from him. "Good night, detective," he growled lowly, slamming the main door shut behind him.

_Damn,_ what had he been _thinking?_ If he had been thinking at all! _Kissing D?_ No fucking way!

However, for a moment, it had seemed alright, hadn't it? Back home, finding him there, almost as if waiting for his return…

He needed a beer.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	86. Scheherazade

**Scheherazade**

* * *

Leon Orcot _never_ backed off from a dare, and he took pride on that.

Still, his _foolishness,_ because it just _didn't_ have another way of being called, had reached too far today, as the golden band around his left hand's ring finger was pleased to remind him just by being _there,_ heavy and glinting.

_A matching ring was worn by D himself…_

They had been wed that afternoon, and they were currently at D's father's home, under his invitation for "tea and some cake." There just hadn't been enough time to organize anything _fancier,_ considering the hasty way it had all happened.

The grandfather was there too, glaring at him over the rim of his teacup, whilst the father _insisted_ he ignore the eldest; still, the violet-eyed one was eyeing him like a _very interesting_ lab specimen, and he didn't like _that_ look either.

Or D's, for that matter; he had that little smirk of his on those pretty dark lips, and his eyes were mocking… yet there wasn't _cruelty_ or _coldness_ in his demeanor. One could actually say he was treating him like he would a rather foolish pet of his shop.

_Damn him and all his family!_

…_his spouse and his in-laws?_

_Hell…_

"Oh, it's too late already!" D's father sighed dramatically, rising from his seat and going to stand behind his father's. "You two should get going, I believe… There's _so much_ you have yet to do, right?"

The grandfather muttered something along the lines of: "He _better_ know what he'll be doing…"

D had the decency to blush shyly, and act all cute and innocent and _virginal_ as he addressed his relatives in _Chinese._ Leon just glared at each of the weirdoes in turn, as the idea began to sink into his already very troubled mind.

_Wedding… Wedding night… Sex._

_Holy shit. He had to find a way out of that!_

He'd been drinking the last of his tea as panic hit, and he'd ended up _spraying_ D as he spit it out.

Dead silence, no blinking, no breathing…

Then D opened his mismatched eyes again to _glare_ at him, as he dried himself up with silken handkerchief, while his father giggled and the grandfather seemed to sigh in relief. Leon and the golden-eyed one _knew_ the implications of this; _he wasn't getting any tonight._

_He had yet to think of a strategy for tomorrow, though._

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	87. Bedside

**Bedside**

* * *

Nobody had told him where Vesca had been taken to, yet D had found the way to his bedside at the hospital just the same. He had woken at the time he crossed the room's threshold, his blue eyes fixed on him as he moved to sit by him, reaching out to grasp his hand with both of his.

_Nearly sixty years old… and with cancer._

"Don't die." Both knew he would, though, and that their vow from years ago would finally break: _Until death do us apart…_

Later, the nurses couldn't explain from _where_ had those vines with the deep violet flowers started growing, wrapping themselves around the bed upon which a recently deceased patient lay, a peaceful smile on his lips.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	88. 212: Makeup

Challenge #212: **Makeup**

Seven drabbles, one of which is a gift. Said gift was written right after I got certified on Linux, so it means a lot to me… Not that it matters, of course; it's just another drabble! (really!)

I'm nearing 100 chapters already. Need advice in whether or not to split _Dare me!_ then, so _please,_ stop ignoring the **Review** button! I need to know what you, the reader, want and would find the most convenient.

* * *

_**Mommy **__(PG-13):_ Being a child to two men tends to be confusing… (200 words; tribute to _Tigersilver's_ fanfics; Count D, Leon Orcot, their child)

_**Irked**__ (PG):_ Many women struggle to be pretty and to get the perfect boyfriend. Jealousy can only spark when you see it happening to other people and not you! (Jill Freshney, Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Silver**__ (PG):_ The sign of old age, experience and wisdom (200 words; Sofu D)

_**Promiscuous**__ (PG-13):_ If you're going to begin worshipping someone, be sure to have the right to claim exclusiveness over him, really! Unless you want to be caught in a threesome…? (300 words; Rau Wu Fei "Taizu," Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Career of Choice **__(PG):_ When you have nothing to do with your life, you need to pick a path and follow through to gain a purpose for existing (500 words, gift drabble; dedicated to the _**CHICEA;**_ Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Mysterious Assistant**__ (PG-13):_ Whenever you're around one of the Counts, be wary of the other people that surrounds them! (250 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell, Jennifer)

_**Cleopatra**__ (PG-13):_ One of the historically sexiest ways of arriving to your beloved's side without being found out (Papa D/Count D/Young D, Vesca Howell/Leon Orcot/Chris Orcot)


	89. Mommy

**Mommy**

* * *

_Papa was _not_ a mommy, he was sure!_

The other kids said their mommies wore pretty dresses and makeup; daddy called papa's clothes _dresses,_ and he'd seen papa's careful way of preparing for the day by the vanity, though he wasn't sure if he used any _makeup._

Their mommies cooked the meals and cleaned the house; papa did too, but _always_ with the help of the pet shop's animals.

Their mommies did embroidery and pretty things with their hands; papa _occasionally_ did, when bored or angry with daddy.

Their mommies would hug them close when they'd had a nightmare, and would tell them stories to give them sweeter dreams; papa did that as well, whispering in the darkness of the room of times past, when the world was young and new and green and full of life…

And of life, the younger kids said things of a stork or cabbage, and the older ones, like him, claimed their mommies had given birth to them; he wasn't certain of this, but he had his suspicions papa had done that too.

_Why wasn't papa a mommy, then?_ They had many things in common…

He had to go to daddy with that question.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	90. Irked

**Irked**

* * *

It just _wasn't fair!_

She was looking at the bickering pair of _men_ in front of her desk, thinking that, perhaps, they'd do a fine married couple… in some other life.

Still, her attention got caught by Leon first. He was good-looking, she couldn't deny; deliciously handsome, actually. Blond hair, blue eyes, godly body… _Jeez, really!_ Only manners were missing!

Then, she turned to look at Count D, the drop-dead gorgeous, androgynous Chinese _man,_ who, blessed beyond any favor makeup did, was some serious exotic beauty with dark hair and mismatched eyes.

_Aesthetically pleasing, far from being reached, they were…_

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	91. Silver

**Silver**

* * *

Sitting in front of the vanity, he carefully applied the necessary makeup to hide his sickly-looking pale skin. Since his son had chosen to join that _human_ university, he'd been so worried… _completely_ ruining his natural coloring; now, his lips were a ghostly white, and he had dark shadows under his golden eyes.

He grabbed the comb afterwards, to smooth down his short black hair, which was still as silky as always, one of the few things he had left that hadn't been affected by _worrying_ over his child's actions…

A silvery gleam, and he stopped with a gasp, dropping the comb. He reached out with a hand, grasping the locks that he had been working on a moment ago. Long fingernails went through them frantically, until… another silvery gleam, and the search was narrowed to fewer strands, to finally find what he'd been looking for.

Disbelieving, he pulled as much as he could without hurting, to bring the tip of that lonely hair to his natural range of vision. It was a single pure white strand, nearly transparent, held between his delicate fingers.

_No… he shouldn't become old like that…_

He actually shrieked in fright, the vanity mirror shattering.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	92. Promiscuous

**Promiscuous**

* * *

Hell, the goddamned Count was such a _great kisser…_ Enough to make him forget his original purpose of getting to know the truth behind his business, and to start worrying for pleasing him while he desired to stay within his domains. Which he was beginning to hope would be _forever…_

Knowing which pastries and sweets he favored the most, Taizu went to the pet shop that evening with a gift, wanting no more than to relive that delightful moment on the couch. Still, it was suspiciously quiet and dark and _alone_ when he arrived… Frowning, he kept on walking, going into the back, leaving the pastry box at the tea table.

He attempted to open each door he found in the hall, but all remained closed and locked. _Weird…_ He then found, minutes later, one that gave in to a candlelit and quite luxurious room, a bed covered in rich silks and satins visible from the doorway. He froze as he saw movement beneath the covers, as he heard moans and groans gradually increasing in volume and frequency…

_No way… _"Am I interrupting _something?_" he asked, without meaning to, but feeling rage rising within his chest and into his throat like champagne, making him twitch all over.

A shocked gasp, the shuffling of the silken sheets… Then he could see them: the Count, his hair completely mussed and lip paint smuggled, a mouth-shaped bruise on his delicate neck, presumably done by his _blond, blue-eyed, possibly American_ lover, whose face was covered with the burgundy paint in lips-shaped marks. Their cheeks had _that_ reddish tone, and their eyes _that_ shiny darkness that spoke of extreme desire and passion…

"Oh, Taizu!" the Count exclaimed, his voice still slightly hoarse. "Eh… This is the detective Leon Orcot… He's an old acquaintance of mine."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	93. Career of Choice

**Career of Choice**

* * *

"What am I going to do with my life _now?_" Ok, he hadn't thought of that; D's life had been, until this moment, only about tending to his grandfather's pet shop, and nothing else. Now that _Leon_ had managed to find him, to make him renounce to such a life… _he didn't have a purpose._

"Eh… well…" He couldn't find the words to tell him _anything._ He could feel himself blushing a deep scarlet, as D's mismatched eyes fixed themselves on his own, all his attention focused on _him…_ as if there wasn't any other being in the Universe he'd rather look and listen at. Hell, perhaps there wasn't another anymore… "Perhaps you could study something?" he lamely suggested.

D started at that, frowning slightly. "Why would I do such a thing? I have _no need_ to…" He shut up then, seeming to remember he _had_ a need. "But_ what_ would I study?" he almost whimpered, looking defeated already.

"I don't know… Genetics, like your dad?" he offered, only to be glared at indignantly. "Ok, ok! No; genetics, no…" He sighed, and stood up to pace around the dimly lit hotel room. "Something you like? Biology? Ecology? Botany, or zoology?" he listed, remembering the many options he'd had years ago, when he'd chosen criminal justice out of all the available career paths.

D turned his head away in haste, lowering his gaze. _Oh, oh…_ "I don't think any of those would suit me," he whispered, his voice sounding as if he was close to tears. "It would only remind me of what I have lost…" Yeah, should have thought about that _before_ suggesting… Leon couldn't just _assume_ D would be happy with such things, only because he had been in the past.

"Management, then? Finances? Literature?" he kept on trying, anyways. "History? Some language? I know you know several already; you'd have some advantage… Or, perhaps, _forensics?_ Law school? Or…?" D held up his hand then, to make him stop. He did, his jaw snapping shut soundly.

"Do you remember the fish owner, Jody?" the Chinese man asked, crossing his legs and suddenly seeming more confident; at least, his smirk was back. "I was quite impressed with Mellow… What was he, again? His profession, I mean."

Leon stared for a full minute, succeeding in making D squirm under his blue gaze. "Eh… He was a computer programmer," he muttered, not quite mentally present at the moment, the corner of his lips twitching. _No way…_ "Are you interested in _that?!_" he burst out laughing, pointing at the confused D… who quickly became enraged.

"I don't know what's so funny about it, _detective Orcot,_" he growled lowly, standing up as Leon fell back upon the bed, still laughing. "After all, it's a valid career among the many I could choose, is it not?" Hands on his hips, eyes glaring, and the American _wouldn't be serious about it._

"But it's _you_ and _computers…!_" Leon was still laughing at the graduation, some years later.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	94. Mysterious Assistant

**Mysterious Assistant**

* * *

"Hey, D! I was wondering if…" Vesca trailed off as he realized the Count wasn't at the laboratory.

Which was _highly unusual;_ it was almost as if he _lived_ there… the freak…

"Count D isn't here at the moment," the purring voice of a female called, and he turned to see a rather sexy, if not heavily makeuped, young woman sitting on top of the desk, legs crossed, miniskirt showing… "But we could wait _together,_ don't you think?"

He let himself be dragged over to a chair, having the mysterious girl sitting on his lap now, being rather forward with him. She kissed his face playfully, giggling occasionally, and he felt himself blushing a deep scarlet, along with a certain uncomfortable thing that could just get him in trouble…

The door to the lab was opened, and it was _D_ freezing at the doorstep, staring wide eyed at him and at the girl. Hell, he knew what kind of spectacle that had to be… "Ah, D!" he struggled to get her off him, with no success. "Hey, I…"

"Jenny, how _mischievously flirty_ you're today, dearest," D replied, addressing the young woman, who tightened her grip around Vesca's neck.

Then, he started remembering… "Jenny? _Jennifer?_" he asked, unbelieving. "The fucking _fly_ you talk to?!" Suddenly, the woman on his lap was no more, and he saw the aforementioned bug flying over to hover by D, whose smirk was _highly_ amused.

"I can't believe you have _seen_ her as she _truly_ is…"

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	95. Cleopatra

**Cleopatra**

* * *

The rolled-up Persian carpet gave him the chills as the officers placed it at the forensics lab. He thanked them for bringing the evidence and sent them off.

His palms were sweaty as he touched the rougher fabric of the carpet's underside, and he pushed against it to unroll it over the floor, careful not to do it too fast…

As he had feared and wanted, what he found at the end was that beautiful and fair creature, with black hair and jewel-like eyes, shadows and blush and lips all in reddish tones, clad in silk.

"D," he whispered huskily.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	96. 213: Crisis

Challenge #213: **Crisis**

Mmm… Took too long to update, sorry! I know I deserve no forgiveness, but… Ok, no excuses either.

Hope you enjoy, because this is the last batch of _Dare me!_, for now! (_Dare me again!_ is around the corner, worry not!)

* * *

_**Traitor**__ (PG):_ The fears of not keeping up with what's expected from you… (100 words; Count D, Leon Orcot)

_**Emergency**__ (PG):_ A duty, or does he truly love him? (150 words, Mother's Day drabble; Count D, Leon Orcot, Papa D)

_**Difficult**__ (PG-13):_ A very picky one-and-only ruins the proposal (200 words; Papa D, Vesca Howell)

_**Emerald Eyes**__ (PG-13):_ All she had wanted in her life was his heart… (234 words; Papa D, Monica's previous incarnation)


	97. Traitor

**Traitor**

* * *

The pets were closing in around him, slowly making him back away toward the nearest railing of the ship, whispering "traitor" over and over again, eyes reflecting great hatred and hurt.

He can understand their reasons: he has fallen for a human, and he deserves punishment for that. Still, he didn't want to leave. The pet shop had been his home, as well as theirs, for a long time.

Yet he tried fighting them off as he was pressed against the railing, almost losing his balance and…

"Hell, D, stop _kicking!_" Leon growled, shaking him awake.

He had been dreaming?

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	98. Emergency

**Emergency**

* * *

"I need to find a phone," D suddenly whispered, as they got out of the restaurant that afternoon.

"Why?" Leon asked, vaguely interested on the fact that it seemed to be urgent. What the Hell did D need it for, anyways?

"I _really_ need to call someone. _Right now._" Oh, mysterious… and _suspicious._

Still, with a shrug, Leon handed him his cellphone. "Quick, or I kill you," he warned.

D dialed some number really fast, worrying he might be too late… "Yes?" someone answered, voice even yet melodious.

"Thank you for having given me life, papa," he said in Chinese, before he ended the connection.

He sighed, passing the phone to Leon, who was feigning he wasn't as interested in the call as he truly was. "That's all?" he inquired.

"Yes," D replied, sounding relieved as he linked their arms. "Thank you very much, detective… Let's head back home now."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	99. Difficult

**Difficult**

* * *

"I don't like it," D declared after a long moment of silence, crossing his arms and legs. "Get me another one," he added, turning his head away as well.

Vesca would have _strangled_ him right then. "You aren't supposed to _turn down_ the fucking _ring_ when someone _proposes to you,_" he growled, pocketing the poor rejected piece of jewelry in its box again.

It was a really pretty ring… but D was too much of a _spoiled princess_ to accept it, instead demanding he buy _another_ one. Well, he supposed he deserved it; giving in to every wish for over six months now hadn't been the best strategy. It had been hard not to comply, though…

"Fine, forget it," he muttered, rising to his feet again as D said nothing else. "Knew this was a _bad idea. _And I don't have the money for another, anyways."

Suddenly, as he turned to leave, he felt D hugging him from behind, arms reaching out to his front and grasping at his shirt. "You don't mean it, do you?" he whispered.

"The money?" Vesca asked.

"That it was a bad idea. Because I _want to…_" he admitted. "I just didn't like the ring."

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


	100. Emerald Eyes

**Emerald Eyes**

* * *

The terminally ill had been gathered in that building, left to die, no nurse or doctor bothering anymore with them. A creature as beautiful and pure shouldn't be entering such a den, full of disease and death. Yet he wasn't here on accident; his steps had a purpose, a destination as he moved between the writhing humans in the filthy ground.

In the middle of the dark place, he knelt delicately by a young girl that had adored him so, obtaining nothing else but pity in return for her foolishness. Now she was dying, and something akin to guilt had roused him that day, dragged him over to this horrible center to see her one last time…

"You… came… for me?" she asked, disbelieving and before she started coughing, the hand covering her lips getting stained with her blood. _Tuberculosis._

He didn't answer, violet eyes sad to see how her emerald ones were losing their brightness, how her soul detached from those clear windows… She had been waiting for him to come, had wanted to see him once more before she…

"You're still so young," he whispered, pushing some strands of her brown hair off her face. "You shouldn't be dying yet…"

The rustle of a pair of feathery wings made him raise his gaze to meet that of a beautiful white bird, which had perched over them on one of the roof's supports.

* * *

_Read, Enjoy & Review_


End file.
